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I thought about it. “Maybe . . . Although in my case, it may not be as realistic. I have duties.”
“You never know . . .”
“True,” I said. “Well, hopefully, we will both emerge with the same healthy mindset after this mysterious meeting.”
“Trust me,” Grace said. “There's nothing the queen can say or do to change my mind or alter my state at this point. I’m in a pretty good place right now. Who knows how long it would have taken me to figure that out if I hadn’t come here. I want to thank you for that.”
I smiled. “Glad to help.”
A newfound confidence resonated in her words, and I couldn’t help but admire the clarity she had found during so much uncertainty.
The royal sitting room, usually infused with warmth and familial joy, echoed with tension as Mother entered and paced restlessly in front of the stone fireplace. Henri stepped inside the room and stood off to the side against the wall. Abruptly turning to us, Mother’s gaze practically pierced through each of our souls, a mix of disappointment and fury evident in her eyes.
“Tell me,” she demanded. “Do you all take me for a fool?”
I blinked in astonishment, the weight of her words settling in. We exchanged confused glances as we waited for further explanation.
“Did you seriously think I wouldn’t find out?” Mother continued, her tone accusing. “Every one of you is a liar. It’s bad enough dealing with the wedding mishaps, but my own children lying to me is the last thing I would have expected.”
“What are you talking about?” Adriana asked.
Queen Annabelle scoffed. “Fine—let’s start with you, young lady. You told me you had Veronica’s tiara. That was a lie.”
Adriana nodded hesitantly. “Well, yes, technically a lie, but I didn’t hurt anyone. I was just trying to protect Grace until we found it. It was a little white lie, to buy some time.”
“How kind of you,” Mother retorted, her words laden with sarcasm. She then turned her attention to Theo. “As for you, Theodore, you are a liar and a thief!”
The room buzzed with shock at the strong accusation.
Theo, caught off guard, nervously avoided eye contact. “I don’t know what this is about, but you’re obviously mistaken.”
“Am I?” Mother motioned to Henri, who ushered in a footman carrying a large velvet box. It was placed on the table, capturing everyone’s attention.
Henri and the footman left the room, closing the door behind them.
“Wait a minute,” Grace exclaimed, sitting up in her chair and pointing to the box. “Is that Princess Veronica’s tiara? You found it!”
Mother opened the box with a deliberate, dramatic pause. “Yes. The very tiara stolen by Theodore.”
“What?” Grace said as she spun to face Theo.
All eyes turned accusingly to Theo, who sat there open-mouthed, yet speechless.
“I have just been shown security footage of Theodore removing it from the SUV and taking it to his room,” Mother said. “We found it on the floor of his closet.”
Grace was the first to speak up, the hurt and confusion clearly showing in her eyes. “Why would you take the tiara and then allow me to take the blame? What have I done to you?”
“Nothing, and I really didn’t steal it from anybody. I was just hiding it.” Theo let out a weak chuckle. “Life can be dull here sometimes, and I thought it would add some mystery to our lives. It was just some innocent fun.”
I didn’t believe him. This was completely out of character for Theo, not to mention the fact that he never looked for fun.
“Innocent fun?” Grace shot back, the betrayal evident in her voice. “I don’t buy it. Do you hate me that much?”
Theo opened his mouth and closed it.
“I felt absolutely horrible that I couldn’t find it, especially knowing what it means to Princess Veronica,” Grace added. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
After everything that had previously happened to Grace, I’d never seen her with such a pained expression. She was truly hurt. And it was all my fault for bringing her here.
